Sunday, September 2, 2018

Seven insights from Alltech’s 7th Global Feed Survey

by Aidan Connolly, Chief Innovation Officer and Vice President, Corporate Accounts

Last year’s Alltech Global Feed Survey crossed the threshold of one billion metric tonnes of feed produced globally for the first time. This year affirmed that position with an estimate of 1.068 billion metric tonnes.
 


Aquaculture trends
Aquaculture trends tend to be amongst the most anticipated by the agricultural trade media. This is presumably because of the strong growth of farmed fish over the past 10 years and the degree to which aquaculture is replacing wild fishing as the primary source of fish for human consumption. Aquaculture feeds remained stable overall in 2017. The numbers showed a slight decline in the Asia-Pacific region, while Europe, Latin America and the Middle East regions all increased aqua feed production. African countries mainly increased aquaculture feed production, but one of the larger producers, Egypt, saw a decline.

The continued weakness of aquaculture in China (-5%) reported this year and last, and to a lesser degree in the rest of Asia-Pacific, can be linked to changes in consumption, disease outbreaks and a consolidation of the industry. Additionally, government controls on feeding practices and food safety, particularly the administration of antibiotics, may be having an influence on production levels.

Brazil, Chile and Peru led the increased reported production in Latin America, and Iran stood out from the pack in accounting for almost all of the reported growth in the Middle East. Carp leads the production of aquaculture feed, with shrimp/prawn and tilapia as the second and third places in total production. Catfish, salmon and trout also ranked, though to lesser degrees.

Global Feed Survey
Now in its seventh year of analysis, the Global Feed Survey continues to serve as a valuable report on the state of the global feed industry. In addition to its insights into the feed industry, it serves as a barometer for agriculture as a whole and demonstrates the economic strength of the countries included in the survey.

So what lessons can we draw from the 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey? I have identified seven highlights representing the key trends for agribusiness leaders – from small dairy farmers in India to the largest pig producers in China.


Read the full article in the International Aquafeed magazine online, HERE.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by
Perendale Publishers Ltd

For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news

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